Hi, a few months ago i posted an article "im an idiot with a camaro, please help", basicly looking for advice on how to make 300+ horsepower with my 1980 camaro (5.7l).

it came with flowtec headers, 2 cherry bomb muffelers (with 2" pipes because finding 2.5" is impossible in nova scotia) and several pullys removed (air cond, ect)

i have scince installed a edelbrock performer RPM intake manifold and a crane cams 272 duration (i think) camshaft, as well as a few other odds and ends.

my current problem is, whenever i try to take off, it boggs out as soon as i stomp the gas, im assuming because i kept the old Q-jet carburator, this has generally slowed my times to over 16 seconds (this is particulerly bad as it ran a 14.5 out of the factory with 190 horses) burnouts are nearly impossible, although i did take off once really well and made a 13.3, which im quite happy with (according to a horsepower estimating calculator, this puts my car at about 303.5), but my area is filled with kids driving honda's and nissans who installed a cold air intake and a magnaflow muffeler (but kept the original 1.25 inch pipe, go figure) with no other modifications, and they can kick my ass on the 1/4 because they got me in takeoff.

now to the point, my cousin has an edelbrock 600 cfm carburator, new in the box that he said he'd let go for $200 (he was going to put 2 on his corvette, but ended up using a single-carb intake because of time restraints), im wondering, is this worth the money and will it help during takeoff. also, id like to know if this could possibly give me any more horsepower, il also be installing a 1" spacer, which ive heard can give about 10 horses itself.

A quadrajet carb doesnt use the "squarebore" flange that Holley 4150's and the Edelbrock uses,the Edelbrock might not bolt up without an adapter of some sorts,and an adapter will prolly cost you horsepower.What i would do is add an H pipe to the exhaust as this will give you a little more bottom end torque.The timing/distributor prolly needs upgrading,or a performance curve to get all the advance in as early as possible,again,helping out the bottom end torque.2 fairly inexpensive mods to gain horsepower and torque.Next on the list would be a high stall torque convertor,unless you're running a manual trans.I would also disconnect the exhaust at the drag strip,and see if the ET improves...if it does...the exhaust is a restriction.Try running at the strip without an air cleaner too.Another easy way to add power is a 125 shot of nitrous.Pull 2 degrees timing out when spraying a 125 or 150 shot.Gear ratio change will also net a better ET

im gonna go with new distributor like RT3 said, and maybe some new plug wires/ect, ignition, blah blah blah.
and a converter with higher stall.

but like Transit said, it probably most likely is the Q jet. another carb would do a WORLD of difference. because Q jets? SUCK.

i should have explained, i had to use an adapter plate to get the Q-jet on there, also, as for things like H pipes and torque converters, not only hard to get up here, but im not nearly automotive savy enough to install them, but if i were to use a 4-bbl, i wouldent need the adapter plate, but i figure i might as well use a spacer, i never thought to advance the timing, il go give that a try.

also i should mention that im not actually doing this at a dragstrip, the road i live on was recently paved and we have about a 2 mile straight stretch to work with, also the police almost NEVER come up here, i guess in an area with a population of 35, its not worth the 25 minute drive from the station.

im gonna try advancing the timing slightly tomorrow, if that dont work (and likely even if it does) il probobly get that carb on next week, then post my results.

and as far as disconnecting my exhaust, its kinda welded to the body in above the rear axle (i tried to remove it earlier when i found this out, like that when i bought it, not my fault) and i allready run it without an air cleaner, which does seem to help some, but not enough.

and for nos, i can get a $200 dollar cheater tank at a place i go to get my oil, but ive always believed in "all throttle, no bottle", besides, this engine has 200000 KM's on it (125000 miles) id likely blow the thing up.

Only use a carb spacer if running a single plane,open plenum intake manifold.A carb spacer on a dual plane manifold will make it run terrible.Using a spacer on a single plane tricks the carb into thinking it is getting a stronger vacuum signal from the engine.Back to the timing....im not talking about advancing the timing,if you advance it too much,detonation will occur damaging the engine.What i am talking about is the ADVANCE curve built into the distributor.The distributor has a certain amount of advance built into it.For example....the distributor has 22 degrees advance when fully engaged,and the INITIAL timing,which is what you set by moving the distributor,setting with a timing light,then locking the distributor down is say 10 degrees Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) for a TOTAL ignition advance of 32 degrees (22 plus 10)What i am talking about is the 22 degrees of distributor advance.Manufacterers have the 22 degrees not coming in fully unti 5000 Rpm's...A performance advance curve will have ALL the timing in,or the 22 degrees of distributror advance ALL in by say 2500 Rpm's,making MORE power down low.Another cheap trick is losing weight,or relocating the weight.Move the battery to the trunk for better weight distribution.Remove anything the car doesnt need that is excess weight.Drag racing is all about weight to horsepower ratio.You can go really quick with 350 horsepower if the vehicle only weighs 2000 pounds.

agai, i should have explained better, its not a drag car, i drive this thing in the summer up here wherever i go. theres not much i can really do with relocating the weight, (although i like the idea of the battery in the trunk) i did once take the back seat out and all the insulation rom under the carpet, but the seat only weighed like 40 pounds. the car currently weighs about 3750 with me in it. i am trying to locate some 2.5 inch pipe because i managed to get ahold of a couple of flowmaster 40's with 3" inlets and duel 2.5" outlets, im trying to find a way to get the pipes coming out the sides in front of the rear tires with as few bends as possible, again, i am not by any means mechanically inclined, and the only people around me who are are old-school hot rodders who are used to finding their parts in scrapyards (which i find all the more badass) if i anted to lose weight id likely start cutting holes in the body and probobly remove the trunk altogether, but i do use my trunk to carry things. basically what im shooting for is a car that will make people who try to pass me in stock civics feel like idiots. has anybody ever used edelbrock carbs before? i cant afford a demon and i had a problem with an old holley before, it is a duel plane intake by the way.

Look on page 2 in this forum under "Carburetor suggestions"

but like Transit said, it probably most likely is the Q jet. another carb would do a WORLD of difference. because Q jets? SUCK.

Q jets are BAD ASS if you take the time to learn to finely tune them.

They are a bitch but I love them.

just a little update, while coming home from a friends house yesterday, i noticed i had about 90 degrees of steering in which the wheels wouldent move, this eventually progressed to 200 degrees in either direction, so i was driving 30k under the limit, having to turn the wheel an entire rotation before anything would move, then about 20 minutes into the drive, the steering box broke off the frame, and i went into an 8 foot ditch (its a good thing i did, cause the other side of the road is the ocean, and i cant swim), we got it out of there, i tore off my chin gaurd, the front right rim is bent to hell, and theres no shortage of scratches on the right fender, on the other hand, there are no dents whatsoever (gotta love detroit steel) and the engines fine, looks like the bolts holding the steering box down started coming loose and eventually broke off, the car should be back on the road withen a week, but now my attention has turned from performance to a new paint job, ive wanted for a while now to paint it flat black with golden brown scoops, has anybody here ever painted a car flat black before? nobody around here has airguns so i was going to do it with a paint roller, then just use those little touch up paint cans and clear coat for the scoops

Ok, im about to put the camaro away for the winter, i got the steering box back on and brought it home (took over a month) but before i put it away, should i go with a 600 cfm edelbrock carb, im not looking to set any records, i just want a camaro with 300+ horsepower that runs in the low 12's, im not building a drag car, i drive this thing daily from spring til fall (unless its in the ditch) if i were to put this carburator on,1 would it improve my takeoff,2 what would my total horsepower be (estimated), and 3 what should my ET's be.